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Top 25 ranked fantasy players for Week 16

Alex Gelhar

Fantasy writer/editor

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In need of some quick fantasy advice? Look no further! Below are the top 25 ranked fantasy players per our esteemed panel of experts. The higher the player, the safer the start according to our experts. Not many of these names will surprise you, but it's a great way to get a quick sense of how well our experts collectively think each player will perform each week. You can view the full rankings HERE to help get your starting lineup set in stone prior to the kickoff of this weekend's games.

25 Photos Total

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Matt Rourke/Associated Press

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Johnson has scored a combined 71.2 fantasy points over the last three weeks, and might just be the fantasy postseason MVP.

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Scott Boehm/Associated Press

Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Is Antonio Brown the best wide receiver in the league? Yes. If you take the numbers from his 10 games with Ben Roethlisberger and extrapolate them over a full 16 games, he'd have posted 158 receptions, 2,161 yards and 14 touchdowns this year.

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Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

Bless Rob Gronkowski, because when he's healthy he's the easiest player in all of fantasy football to rank, making our job easier.

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Evan Pinkus/Associated Press

Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

Newton looks like a lock to win both the Fantasy Player of the Year award, and the league MVP award. In 2015, he's had three games with five passing touchdowns ... something Carson Palmer and Tom Brady have combined to do ZERO times.

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Scott Boehm/Associated Press

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Big Ben is piloting the league's deepest and most explosive offense against one of the league's worst secondaries. If you have Ben, congrats on your fantasy championship!

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Ron Sachs/Associated Press

Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins

If you listened to us banging the table all season for Reed, you've been rewarded with back-to-back 18-plus fantasy point outings. He'll look to make it three in a row against an Eagles secondary falling apart at the seams.

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Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers

With the Panthers still playing to clinch homefield advantage, there's no concern over Olsen getting extra rest before the playoffs. Fire him up with confidence.

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Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Allen Robinson, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Robinson didn't see his usual target volume last week, so expect an over-correction against the Saints porous secondary.

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Scott Boehm/Associated Press

Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Martin has suffered from pass-heavy game scripts in each of the last two weeks, but should be able to get going early and often against the Bears, who don't figure to get a big lead on the Bucs out of the gate.

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Don Wright/Associated Press

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Williams is producing for fantasy owners even in tough matchups. You have no choice but to start him against the Ravens.

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Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Peterson says he'll be good to go for his Sunday night matchup with the Giants, but his owners would be wise to target Jerick McKinnon on waivers this week as insurance.

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Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals

Palmer has a bad matchup on paper, but those haven't slowed him down yet this year. With his offense firing on all cylinders he's a must-start against the Packers this week.

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Scott Eklund/Associated Press

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

No player has been on a longer hot streak than Wilson recently. His 20 total touchdowns since Week 11 are more than any other quarterback ... including Cam Newton.

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James D. Smith/Associated Press

Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets

Marshall has had at least 100 receiving yards or a touchdown in 12 of 14 games so far this season. He's quietly been one of the most consistent wide receivers in fantasy.

Julius Thomas, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars

Thomas has sneakily returned to the TE1 discussion over the last month, scoring 44.4 fantasy points in that span -- the third-most among tight ends.

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Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Many thought Bortles would improve in his sophomore season, but none expected him to throw 31 touchdown passes. He'll add several more to that total this week against the Saints.

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David Richard/Associated Press

Gary Barnidge, TE, Cleveland Browns

Waiver-wire pickup of the year? If you've ridden Barnidge to a fantasy championship, vote for him here.

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Billy Hurst/Associated Press

Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams

Gurley faces a terrible matchup (Seahawks) on the road, but he's simply too special of a player to bench in fantasy. Dance with the one that brought you, as the expression goes.

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Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Brady would be a little higher were it not for Newton, Roethlisberger and Palmer all having plus matchups. Brady likely will be without Danny Amendola this week, but he could move the Patriots offense throwing to this dog.

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Ben Margot/Associated Press

Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

West's value will certainly take a hit if Spencer Ware sees more snaps again, but he's talented enough to produce against the Browns suspect run defense regardless.

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Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Round 1 of Julio Jones vs. Josh Norman went to Norman, but we'll see about Round 2. It'll be hard to sit a player of Julio's caliber in fantasy title matches.

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Don Wright/Associated Press

Martavis Bryant, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Alien has been a bit quiet of late ... is now the time for him to swoop in and abduct a fantasy championship for his owners? I'll show myself out and delete my account, don't worry.

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Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Freeman has one of the safest touch volumes in the league, helping him keep a safe fantasy floor. Hopefully the game script doesn't get away from Atlanta as quickly as it did the last time the faced the Panthers.

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Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

Eric Decker, WR, New York Jets

Death, taxes, and Eric Decker touchdowns. There are some things one simply cannot escape.